The One He Got Away
by NyaVivanovich
Summary: MACUSA is hunting potential Obscurials, and Percival Graves is at the head of the hunt. Six years after finding one in the shape of Nora Craven, he still isn't entirely sure why he helped her escape. When Nora and her mysterious past come back to haunt him, Graves must choose between the MACUSA and what his heart tells him is right. Graves / OC


_This is an AU story - Graves is actually Graves and not Grindelwald, and this story is set in the aftermath of FBAWTFT as if Graves was a good guy._

Percival Graves moved slowly through the open door, his wand drawn. He had been to the house on Swallow Lane many times, always in the middle of the night. Of all his duties for the Magical Congress, this was the one he took most seriously. As Director of Magical Security it fell to him, but even if it hadn't he'd have insisted on the job. Following the incident with Scamander and the Obscurial, MACUSA were taking no chances. Prior to Credence Barebone, there had been no Obscurial in America for almost four hundred years. The destruction and havoc wrought by the boy had been far-reaching and dangerous for the entire wizarding world. MACUSA had vowed that never again should an Obscurial be allowed to develop. This meant an extensive, country-wide search and surveillance program, in an effort to locate children and young people trying to conceal their magic before they could develop fully as Obscurials. It had been a massive operation setting up a network of Searchers across the country, but so far it seemed to be working. Five young people had been flagged as potential Obscurials, and four of them were safely in MACUSA's custody. The fifth lived on Swallow Lane.

This one was, in Graves' opinion, the greatest threat of all the Potentials they had found. For a month he had been visiting the house, trying to determine which of the occupants might be the Potential. He had narrowed it down to three, but there were reasons why it might be any of them. The orphanage on Swallow Lane had developed a reputation, and MACUSA weren't the only people interested in what went on there. The No Maj government body which protected children were always sniffing around, which made his Graves' job much harder. He'd had to pose as them twice to gain access.

He pushed the door open gently, jinxing it so that it wouldn't creak. Something was wrong. Usually the door was not only closed, but padlocked and bolted. He could feel a strange darkness - a sort of terrible fear, or despair. His heart lurched. Moving silently down the hallway, he kept his wand brandished and listened intently. He could hear voices - faintly, in a room at the end of the corridor. Confirming the presence of people, light shone from under the door, which was slightly ajar. He approached it cautiously, most of the muscles in his body tensed. He could hear the voices more clearly now. A young child whimpered, begging someone to stop whatever it was that they were doing.

"Please, Mrs McKinnon, Please don't! You'll drown her!"

There were at least three of them. The woman who ran the orphanage was called Mary McKinnon - a nasty piece of work with a criminal record. He pushed the door open without making a sound, just enough to see into the room. The whimpering child crouched in the corner of the room, her nightdress soaked with water. She cowered in the corner, clutching a ragged, worn teddybear with white knuckles. In the middle of the room, McKinnon stood with her back to the door. In front of her was a tall basin of water. He peered around the door, his heart racing. McKinnon had pinned a young woman to the table and was forcing her head into the basin. The young woman was struggling, splashing water all over the floor.

"You'll learn," the older woman spat as she held the girl's head under the water. "I don't tolerate evil-doing under this roof!"

"No!" The younger child screamed. "Let her go!" She stood up, and Graves only just ducked back behind the door in time to conceal himself. He heard the little girl run at McKinnon, and winced as he heard her knocked backwards. He could just see the teddybear on the floor by the door. Clenching his jaw, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Under normal circumstances, as hard as it would be, he'd have no choice but to walk away. MACUSA had made it very clear that he was not to interfere in the lives of Potentials unless they or someone else was in acute danger. The orphanage was not an easy place to abide by that rule. He'd had to walk away several times with a heavy conscience.

Tonight, though, he could not. The girl in the water was one of the three he suspected might be the Potential Obscurial. If he left her, her Obscurus might develop to its full potential. To make matters worse, the girl with the bear was the second of the three possible candidates at the orphanage. Steeling himself, he opened his eyes and stepped forward, his wand raised. He could hear the girl in the water still thrashing around, though the younger child was unconscious on the floor. Slamming the door fully open, he strode into the room and faced the surprised Mrs McKinnon. Turning around, she let go of the girl in the water, who slumped and was still.

"Petrificus Totalus!" He said, pointing his wand at the older woman. She stiffened, and fell to the floor straight as a board, petrified.

Ignoring her, he strode to the water basin, where the older girl was still submerged. Lifting her out of the water, he was shocked to find that she was still breathing, perfectly evenly, as if she were sleeping.

Laying her down gently on the floor, he looked over at the little girl by the door. A bright, white light surrounded her, like a protective cocoon of some sort.

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"Graves, what are you saying?" The President of MACUSA stared at him, her head cocked on one side inquisitively.

"I'm saying I've found the Obscurial in the orphanage."

"What makes you so sure? I thought your team agreed that the girl with the bear was the most likely candidate?"

Graves nodded, staring at the girl laid out on the bed in front of him. She was unconscious, her clothing still damp.

"That was before I saw the older one breathe under water."

"What?"

"The McKinnon woman was trying to drown her. She held her head under the water long enough to do so. Yet when I lifted her out of the tank, she was breathing totally normally. She has magical blood. Part Mer, possibly."

The president looked shocked.

"If that's true, why didn't her Obscurus develop to protect her?"

"That's the thing," Graves said, still staring at the girl. "It did develop, only not to protect her. It protected the younger girl."

"How... how is that even possible?" The President looked confused.

"Madam President, this girl is unlike Potential I have ever seen. She breathes under water, and her Obscurus is not dark, but light. It protected someone she cared about rather than her. She is powerful - perhaps more so than the Barebone boy."

The President's expression changed to one of suspicion and fear.

"Then she must not be allowed to develop."

Graves said nothing.

"What is her name?" the President stood beside him, staring down at the unconscious young woman on the hospital wing stretcher.

"Leonora Craven," he replied, unaware of how Leonora Craven would change his life forever.


End file.
